i. Technical Field
The present invention relates, in general, to surgical instruments and, more particularly, to surgical stapling instruments.
ii. Background of the Related Art
Surgical stapling instruments have been used to simultaneously make an incision in tissue and apply lines of staples on opposing sides of the incision. Such instruments commonly include a pair of cooperating jaw members that, if the instrument is intended for endoscopic or laparoscopic applications, are capable of passing through a cannula passageway. In various embodiments, one of the jaw members can receive a staple cartridge having at least two laterally spaced rows of staples. The other jaw member can define an anvil having staple-forming pockets aligned with the rows of staples in the cartridge. The instrument can further include a plurality of wedges, or a staple sled, which, when driven distally, passes through openings in the staple cartridge and engages drivers supporting the staples in order to effect the firing of the staples toward the anvil. The simultaneous severing of tissue while forming rows of staples on each side of the cut can reduce bleeding and simplify various surgical procedures. In certain circumstances, however, the force required to form the staples and incise the tissue simultaneously may be significant.
Previous surgical stapling instruments have included a handle assembly, an elongate shaft extending from the handle assembly, and an end effector movably mounted to the elongate shaft, wherein the end effector can be articulated relative to the elongate shaft. Often, a surgeon is required to use both hands in order to articulate the end effector relative to the shaft, i.e., the surgeon is often required to use one hand to hold the handle assembly of the surgical instrument, for example, and use their other hand to operate a lever, for example, which articulates the end effector. While such surgical instruments can be suitable in many circumstances, a surgeon may not have a hand free to perform another step in the surgical procedure. The foregoing discussion is intended only to illustrate some of the shortcomings present in the field of the invention at the time, and should not be taken as a disavowal of claim scope.